Newsletter

Savannah mayor 'bamboozled' by attorney for accident victim

Lesley Conn/Savannah Morning News

Attorney Howard Spiva and his client, Shanta Greene, leave Thursday’s City Council workshop.

Attorney Howard Spiva asked City Council members to greet Shante Greene after he presented information claiming she lost her leg and had other injuries caused by a limb from a c ity-maintained tree crushing her. Several on council were not sure whether the pending legal action should keep them from interacting with Greene. Alderwoman Mary Osborne did speak to her.

Attorney Howard Spiva wheels Shante Greene from Savannah City Council's workshop after asking the city to avoid a lengthy, expensive trial and settle her claim.

Attorney Howard Spiva talks with a WSAV reporter about injuries his client, Shante Greene, suffered after a limb from a city-maintained tree impaled her in July 2010.

In hindsight, Mayor Otis Johnson believed, he got played.

Attorney Howard Spiva was supposed to be speaking to City Council at a Thursday morning workshop about whether the city was failing to properly trim and maintain trees and whether that was putting the city at risk for increased injury claims.

Spiva represents Shanta Greene, 29, who filed a claim against the city after she lost her right leg and suffered other crushing injuries in July 2010. A massive tree branch fell and impaled her in the passenger side of a pickup as it headed along Bee Road at 42nd Street. Spiva began his presentation showing television coverage of the accident and her recovery.

“Once I saw the outline, I knew I had been bamboozled,” Johnson said. “What we got was a full-fledged court presentation ... designed to sensationalize the injury and invoke sympathy. I hope that I have not jeopardized the city’s position.”

Spiva says he told city officials from the beginning he wanted to talk about an injury claim. He asked council to direct its attorney and Risk Management staff to negotiate a settlement rather than risk losing a jury verdict that could cost the city substantially more.

Greene has had more than 40 surgeries. Spiva said she has incurred more than $760,000 in medical expenses and seeks at least $2 million more for future medical costs and loss of income. The city has denied her claim.

“Either meet to mediate,” Spiva said, “or we file suit and the war begins.”

When Greene later was wheeled into the room, council members were clearly uncertain about whether to acknowledge her. Alderwoman Mary Osborne shook Greene’s hand and spoke to her, and others eventually mumbled condolences. Johnson turned away in his chair, which, Greene said, offended her.

“I went in there as the victim” she said. “I felt like the enemy. (The mayor) just turned around like I was nothing. And I voted for him.”

With cameras trained on him while asked about it later, Johnson was dignified, but clearly angered by the implication he had no sympathy for Greene.

“Of course I feel sympathy for her,” he snapped. “She has suffered a catastrophic injury that has changed her life forever. The conflict I felt was how do I express sympathy for her while still maintaining responsibility for this city and its purse strings?”

Johnson tried to call a halt about halfway through Spiva’s presentation, saying he wanted to seek an opinion from City Attorney James Blackburn. The presentation was far different than he anticipated, he said.

On Blackburn’s advice, and with Spiva demanding the right to continue, Johnson allowed the last part of Spiva’s presentation. In it, Spiva showed city records that he says proves the city had prior knowledge of the rot and damage to the tree. City records also show, he said, the city had been called out previously to deal with rotting limbs from the tree.

That knowledge nullifies the city’s right to absolute immunity, Spiva contends, which grants that a municipality cannot be liable unless it can be demonstrated it could be anticipated that damage or injury would occur.

City Risk Management staff has denied Greene’s damage claim on the basis there was no sign of rot and no indication such an accident would happen.

Spiva contends that is not true, and also cautions that prior Park and Tree Department directors tried to implement a preventative maintenance plan of trimming back limbs. Employee staffing reductions have been so severe, Spiva says, that the city is not properly monitoring trees for similar problems. He warned that other incidents could happen.

“We cannot say we have this big urban forest and tell our tourists, ‘Come, all 7 million of you’ and not take care of our trees,” he said.